In an electronic system, such as an entertainment system, to be remotely operated, it is advantageous for a remote control to be able to configure itself to match the capabilities of the particular appliance to be controlled at that particular time by the remote control. In those devices known as universal remote controls, this capability is particularly useful since such remote controls have a generally generic keypad layout that can be used to control different remotely operable devices. Corresponding U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/121,229 filed on Jul. 23, 1998 in the name of Universal Electronics Inc. and entitled xe2x80x9cUniversal Remote Control System With Device Activated Setup,xe2x80x9d which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a method wherein a newly installed consumer electronic appliance activates the setup of an existing universal remote control by transmitting to the remote control a signal identifying the type of appliance just installed and the infrared (xe2x80x9cIRxe2x80x9d) remote control format to which it responds.
It has been found that additional information is required after the device activated setup; that is, even after the device activated setup identification process has taken place, the exact capabilities of the device to be remotely controlled are still not completely known to the remote control. For example, while the device may have identified itself as a Sony TV responding to Sony""s infrared control format, the remote control still does not know whether this particular model of Sony TV is equipped with picture-in-picture, surround sound, or other features which are not necessarily available on every model of TV set Sony builds and/or sells.
Methods have been considered to expand the code used during the device activated setup to allow unique identification of each specific model of every manufacturer""s range of devices. However, for practical purposes, storing a cross-reference to every possible permutation and combination of features within a pre-programmed universal remote control is not feasible, either from a memory space or a non-obsolescence standpoint. The present invention is directed to, among other objects, providing a more viable solution to the problem.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, during the set up process, the functional capability definition (xe2x80x9cFCDxe2x80x9d) data is transferred to the remote control using an extension of, and improvement on, the IR transmission protocol already defined in the aforementioned patent application which, as noted, is incorporated herein.
In this invention, the device to be controlled (TV, VCR, etc.) conveys, or is caused to convey, a summary of its capabilities to the remote control. In one inventive method, the remote control need only recognize and process a single set of standard abstract feature indicators, and map these indicators on specific IR codes and keys according to a list of capabilities provided by the controlled device. In a preferred embodiment, the remote control includes an LCD display panel and touch screen input capability, allowing it to display only those key functions applicable to the specific device being controlled. This reduces the likelihood that a user will be confused by the presence of extraneous keys. This invention further describes encoding schemes and methods and communication protocols for conveying this information to the remote control from a specific device. This may be an extension, or an additional capability, of the device activated setup described in the aforementioned application.
The invention discloses a method and system for setting up a universal remote control for operation with a device to be controlled (TV, VCR, etc.), including the steps of providing a listing of standard feature indicators as to the capabilities of each device to be controlled. The indicators are provided from the device to be controlled to the remote control. The indicators are processed by the remote control which maps said indicators into specific IR codes and keys according to the list of capabilities of the device to be controlled.
The invention includes a method for setting up a control unit for operation with a device to be controlled. The method comprises the steps of: transmitting from the control unit to the device to be controlled a request for configuration information; transmitting a listing of controllable functions of the device to be controlled from the device to be controlled; recognizing a set of function indicators, each of the indicators corresponding to a respective function to be controlled from the listing of controllable functions; mapping the functions into specific codes and keys according to the listing of controllable functions of the device: and storing the resulting configuration information.
Another embodiment of the invention includes a control system for electronically controlled devices wherein the system comprises: a standard high performance bus connecting the electronically controlled devices; a signal responsive universal remote control providing a user interface; and an interface adaptor communicating with the bus. The adapter preferably includes a signal transceiver, a bus interface unit, and a micro controller connected to control two-way communications between the signal transceiver and the bus interface unit to selectively obtain capability information from one of the electronically controlled devices connected to the bus.
Another method of the invention includes controlling electronically controlled devices via a universal remote control. The method includes the steps of: interconnecting the devices using a standard high performance bus to enable communication between devices at a digital level; connecting an interface adaptor to the bus; providing the interface adaptor with the capability of communicating via IR to a universal remote control; soliciting information from the devices on the bus; and communicating the solicited information via a two-way communication link between the remote control and at least one of the devices to control the device, or devices, via the universal remote control.
The invention also envisions a control system providing: a plurality of devices connected via a bus conforming to a first standard, wherein the devices communicate according to a second standard; a plurality of devices, including a target device having context determined data defining a plurality of functions supported by the target device and a plurality of associated icons; an adaptor in operable communication with the bus to receive context determined data from the target device and send context determined data to the target devices; and a remote control in operable communication with the adaptor to send and receive context determined data.
The invention also includes a control system for controlling devices connected through a bus conforming to an IEEE 1394 standard and communicating according to a HAVi standard. The system includes: an adaptor communicating with one of the devices: and a remote control in communication with one of the devices via the adaptor. The remote control is configured by one of the devices by communicating context determined data to the remote control.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will apparent from the following detailed discussion of preferred and exemplary embodiments with references to the attached drawings and claims.